Autonomy founder Mike Lynch defends company’s books

The founder of a British software company Hewlett-Packard bought in 2011 says accusations that his company fraudulently misrepresented itself during the deal are completely without merit, and he plans to vigorously defend the company against U.S. federal investigators.

HP announced in November that it would be taking a multibillion-dollar charge over unexpected losses related to its purchase of Autonomy. HP claimed Autonomy misrepresented itself during deal discussions and as a result, Autonomy failed to deliver the growth HP expected. HP said it learned of Autonomy’s fraudulent activity through the help of a whistleblower.

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch immediately fired back at the allegations, denying any wrongdoing on Autonomy’s part. And last week, he confirmed in a filing that he would be defending himself and his company against U.S. investigators.

"Simply put these allegations are false, and in the absence of further detail we cannot understand what HP believes to be the basis for them," Lynch said in a statement. "We continue to reject these allegations in the strongest possible terms. Autonomy's financial accounts were properly maintained in accordance with applicable regulations, fully audited by Deloitte and available to HP during the due diligence process."